John Lawrence

Health issues.

A. T.

Okay, I'm sorry to hear that. Brother Lawrence, I'll be sure to keep you in my prayers. Again, I thank you for your post.

adm

I almost bought a Praktica back in the day but opted for a Canon TL instead. The Praktica was a decent rig but the Canon seemed to be slightly better made. The Canon was my first serious camera that I bought with my own money. Before that I used a Retina II rangefinder that was my dad's. My dad ended up giving me the Retina, which I still have.

Fotozone Loc: Mesquite, NV

My first camera was in 1968, an Olympus OM-1! Loved it and the two Zuiko lenses I had. Had it for 8 months and naively left it in my VW bug and at the World Fair Grounds in San Fransisco. When I returned from lunch, I had a smashed window and a missing camera. I...Have...Never...Left...A...Camera...visible...and...Not...Locke...In ...a...Car...Since!! Traumatic at the time, I was 17!

Jerrin1 Loc: Wolverhampton, England

My first camera was hand - me - down Brownie 127 from my older sister. My first SLR was a Practica Nova 1B, which a friend gave me in 1970 - I was 15 years old then. I now own an Olympus EM1X and EM1 mark III, previous to those a Sony A9 and A7R4 - I've come a long way and certainly don't miss my old Pratica.

tcthome Loc: NJ

I use to borrow my parents 120 film camera as a young teen(I think it was a kodak but not sure). When in my 20's , I became interested again & purchased a Canon AE-1 P from a walk in catalog store after seeing it in their catalog. It came with a 50mm lens. I also purchased a Canon 70-210 zoom with a macro function in it at the same time. I still have it in a camera bag in the TV stand. I was just reminded of it yesterday when in the fridge & seeing I still have 2 rolls of Kodak 200 Gold that has to be around 15 yrs old & thinking I should get a new battery for the camera & see if the film is still good. Any way around 200 I purchased a Olympus 6mp point & shoot while getting a Sony point & shoot for my God children.
Now I shoot with a Nikon D810 purchased spring 2016 along with some Nikon glass & a cheap tripod. Happy shooting & enjoy the warmer weather. Stay safe.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

That was also my first camera. I took it with me to basic training when I joined the army in 1959. I later left it at home after I bought my first two 35mm cameras. It disappeared. I have always suspected my younger brother of hocking it for beer money.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

All of these stories have put me in a reflective mood. Thinking back to my teenage years I remember going to the public library and looking at the ads in the photography magazines and drooling over all of the 35mm cameras that I could not afford. I bought my first 35mm camera while serving in the army. In the early 1960's while serving as a missionary in Germany I bought my first SLR, an Exa 1. It cost around a hundred Marks, 20 bucks for me. Before I came home I managed to buy a Praktina IIA which I used for many years and still have. I now have over 30 cameras in a display case in my home office. As a teenager I never dreamed that I would some day own so many cameras.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

My first camera cost $0.98 and came from Whalens drug store. I was about 8 when I bought it. Unknown to me at the time, it was a split-frame camera, using 127 film. Push the lever down to take a picture, and then push it up to take another on the same frame. I took lots of pictures with that camera till the shutter lever broke. Then I got an Ansco with a flash.

AndyT Loc: Hampstead, New Hampshire

My sister bought me a Kodak Brownie Starmite camera back in the 60's. Found a picture of it online. It would nice to have it as a memento, but it's long gone I'm afraid.

portcragin Loc: Kirkland, WA

My first serious camera (in 1965)was a Mamiya-Sekor 500 DTL.

skatz

Only my father had a camera in my family until I saved up my lawn mowing and snow shoveling money and bought a Minolta SRT-101 with a 50mm 1.7 lens in 1969 through a high school friend who imported them from Japan. I didn’t know the term “gray-market” but I knew there was no warranty for the discounted price. 2 weeks after I received it, the meter died. I bought a Gossen Pilot meter but that was a bother so I learned to judge exposure by eye. I took almost all the photos in my high school year book with that camera, and several feature stories for the local paper too. By-lines in the paper got me summer jobs in the photo department of an aerospace company in town while I was in high school and college. There I learned to use a 4 x 5 view camera, Rolleiflex TLR, and how to process and print B&W and color. While working at a camera store after college, a customer offered me a replacement meter mechanism for the SRT-101, free if I could figure out how to put it in and make it work accurately. I did, then I traded the Minolta for a Nikkormat FT and a 55mm f3.5 micro. Many years and many cameras later, I still remember that Minolta 50mm 1.7 as one of the best lenses I ever used. Thanks to the OP for the opportunity to share everyone’s stories.

Francisco Fernandez

Yes, you’re right those were the lenses that you could get in those days for Prakticas. Thanks for sharing your story.

Francisco Fernandez

Thank you John, I had the same feeling, like if I were flying back in time to those good old days in which we didn’t have to worry about anything but “how will my pictures come out?” these memories are here with us, forever.

Francisco Fernandez

Thank you very much!